Posts Tagged ‘physical acquisition’

It’s been fast. iOS 11.3.1 and all earlier versions of the system down to iOS 11.2 have been successfully jailbroken. In addition, the jailbreak is compatible with iOS 11.4 beta 1 through 3. We normally wouldn’t post about each new jailbreak release; however, this time things are slightly different. The new Electra jailbreak uses two different exploits and presents two very different installation routines depending on whether or not you have a developer account with Apple. Considering how much more stable the developer-account exploit is compared to the routine available to the general public, this time it pays to be an Apple developer.

We tested the Electra jailbreak and can confirm that iOS Forensic Toolkit 4.0 is fully compatible. File system imaging and keychain extraction work; no OpenSSH installation required as Electra includes an SSH client listening on port 22.

Why Jailbreak?

For the general consumer, jailbreak is one open security vulnerability calling for trouble. Apple warns users against jailbreaking their devices, and there is much truth in their words.

Forensic experts use jailbreaks for much different reasons compared to enthusiast users. A wide-open security vulnerability is exactly what they want to expose the device’s file system, circumvent iOS sandbox protection and access protected data. Jailbreaking extract the largest set of data from the device. During jailbreaking, many software restrictions imposed by iOS are removed through the use of software exploits.

In addition to sandboxed app data (which includes conversation histories and downloaded mail), experts can also extract and decrypt the keychain, a system-wide storage for online passwords, authentication tokens and encryption keys. Unlike keychain items obtained from a password-protected local backup, physical extraction of a jailbroken device gains access to keychain items secured with the highest protection class ThisDeviceOnly (this is how).

The New Electra Jailbreak

Jailbreaking iOS versions past 11.1.2 (for which a Google-discovered vulnerability was published along with a proof-of-concept tool) was particularly challenging but not impossible. At this time, a team of jailbreakers discovered not one but two different vulnerabilities, releasing two versions of Electra jailbreak. Why the two versions?

iPhone protection becomes tougher with each iteration. The passcode is extremely hard to break, and it’s just the first layer of defense. Even if the device is unlocked or if you know the passcode, it is not that easy and sometimes impossible to access all the data stored on the device. This includes, for example, conversations in Signal, one of the most secure messengers. Apple did a very good job as a privacy and security advocate.

This is why we brought our attention to cloud acquisition. We pioneered iCloud backup extraction several years ago, and we are working hard to acquire more data from the cloud: from the standard categories available at www.icloud.com (such as contacts, notes, calendars, photos and more) to hidden records as call logs, Apple Maps places and routes, third-party application data stored on iCloud drive (not accessible by any other means), iCloud keychain (the real gem!), and recently Messages (with iOS 11.4, they can be synced too).

Cloud acquisition is not as easy as it sounds. First, you need the user’s credentials – Apple ID and password at very least, and often the second authentication factor. Additionally, for some categories (such as the keychain and messages), you’ll also need the passcode of one of the ‘trusted’ devices. But even having all of those, you will still face the undocumented iCloud protocols, encryption (usually based on well-known standard algorithms, but sometimes with custom modifications), different data storage formats, code obfuscation and hundreds of other issues. We learned how to fool Two-Factor Authentication and extract and the authentication tokens from desktops. We are playing “cat and mouse” with Apple while they are trying to lock iCloud accounts when detecting that our software is being used to access the data. We have to monitor Apple’s changes and updates almost 24/7, installing every single beta version of iOS.

iCloud acquisition gives fantastic results. In most cases, you do not need the device itself (it may be lost or forgotten, or thousands miles away). You can obtain deleted data that is not stored on any physical device anymore. You can obtain tons of valuable evidence from all the devices connected to the account.

But as always, there are some “buts”. Sorry for the long intro, and let’s proceed to what we have done about iPhone physical acquisition.

We have just released an update to iOS Forensic Toolkit. This is not just a small update. EIFT 4.0 is a milestone, marking the departure from supporting a large number of obsolete devices to focusing on current iOS devices (the iPhone 5s and newer) with and without a jailbreak. Featuring straightforward acquisition workflow, iOS Forensic Toolkit can extract more information from supported devices than ever before.

Feature wise, we are adding iOS keychain extraction via a newly discovered Secure Enclave bypass. With this new release, you’ll be able to extract and decrypt all keychain records (even those secured with the highest protection class, ThisDeviceOnly) from 64-bit iOS devices. The small print? You’ll need a compatible jailbreak. No jailbreak? We have you covered with logical acquisition and another brand new feature: the ability to extract crash logs.

This publication is somewhat unusual. ElcomSoft does not need an introduction as a forensic vendor. We routinely publish information on how to break into the phone, gain access to information and extract as much evidence as theoretically possible using hacks (jailbreaks) or little known but legitimate workarounds. We teach and train forensic experts on how to extract and decrypt information, how to download information from iCloud with or without the password, how to bypass two-factor authentication and how their iPhone falls your complete victim if you know its passcode.

This time around we’ll be playing devil’s advocate. We’ll tell you how to defend your data and your Apple account if they have your iPhone and know your passcode.

iOS Devices Are Secure

We praised the iOS security model on multiple occasions. Speaking of the current pack of iOS versions (including iOS 11.4 release, 11.4.1 public beta and 12.0 first developer beta), we have full-disk encryption with decryption keys derived from the user’s passcode and protected by Secure Enclave. Thanks to the iOS keychain, we enjoy the additional layer of protection for our passwords and other sensitive information. If you protected your iPhone with a 6-digit passcode (which you really should, and which is the default since at least iOS 10), most of your information is securely encrypted until you first unlock your iPhone after it completes the boot sequence. Even if they take the memory chip off, they won’t get anything meaningful due to the encryption. (more…)

Numerous vendors advertise many types of solutions for extracting evidence from Android devices. The companies claim to support tens of thousands of models, creating the impression that most (if not all) Android devices can be successfully acquired using one method or another.

On the other side of this coin is encryption. Each Google-certified Android device released with Android 6.0 or later must be fully encrypted by the time the user completes the initial setup. There is no user-accessible option to decrypt the device or to otherwise skip the encryption. While this Google’s policy initially caused concerns among the users and OEM’s, today the strategy paid out with the majority of Android handsets being already encrypted.

So how do the suppliers of forensic software overcome encryption, and can they actually extract anything from an encrypted Android smartphone locked with an unknown passcode? We did our own research. Bear with us to find out!

Many thanks to Oleg Davydov from Oxygen Forensics for his invaluable help and advise.

We live in the era of mobile devices with full-disk encryption, dedicated security co-processors and multiple layers of security designed to prevent device exploitation. The recent generations of Apple mobile devices running iOS 10 and 11 are especially secure, effectively resisting experts’ efforts to extract evidence. Yet, several solutions are known to counter Apple’s security measures even in iOS 11 and even for the last-generation devices. It is not surprising that Apple comes up with counter measures to restrict the effectiveness and usability of such methods, particularly by disabling USB data connection in iOS 11.4 after prolonged inactivity periods (well, in fact it is still in question whether this feature will be available in new iOS version or not; it seems it is not ready yet, and may be delayed till iOS 12).

Today, we’ll discuss the main challenges of iOS forensics, look at some of the most interesting solutions available to law enforcement, and share our experience gaining access to some of the most securely protected evidence stored in Apple iOS devices. (more…)

A new iOS update is about to roll out in the next few weeks or even days. Reading Apple documentation and researching developer betas, we discovered a major new security feature that is about to be released with iOS 11.4. The update will disable the Lightning port after 7 days since the device has been last unlocked. What is the meaning of this security measure, what reasons are behind, and what can be done about it? Let’s have a closer look.

USB Restricted Mode in iOS 11.4

In the iOS 11.4 Beta, Apple introduced a new called USB Restricted Mode. In fact, the feature made its first appearance in the iOS 11.3 Beta, but was later removed from the final release. This is how it works:

“To improve security, for a locked iOS device to communicate with USB accessories you must connect an accessory via lightning connector to the device while unlocked – or enter your device passcode while connected – at least once a week.”

The functionality of USB Restricted Mode is actually very simple. Once the iPhone or iPad is updated to the latest version of iOS supporting the feature, the device will disable the USB data connection over the Lightning port one week after the device has been last unlocked. (more…)

In the world of mobile forensics, physical acquisition is still the way to go. Providing significantly more information compared to logical extraction, physical acquisition can return sandboxed app data (even for apps that disabled backups), downloaded mail, Web browser cache, chat histories, comprehensive location history, system logs and much more.

In order to extract all of that from an i-device, you’ll need the extraction tool (iOS Forensic Toolkit) and a working jailbreak. With Apple constantly tightening security of its mobile ecosystem, jailbreaking becomes increasingly more difficult. Without a bug hunter at Google’s Project Zero, who released the “tfp0” proof-of-concept iOS exploit, making a working iOS 11 jailbreak would take the community much longer, or would not be possible.

The vulnerability exploited in tfp0 was present in all versions of iOS 10 on all 32-bit and 64-bit devices. It was also present in early versions of iOS 11. The last vulnerable version was iOS 11.2.1. Based on the tfp0 exploit, various teams have released their own versions of jailbreaks.

Forget battery issues. Yes, Apple issued an apology for slowing down the iPhone and promised to add better battery management in future versions of iOS, but that’s not the point in iOS 11.3. Neither are ARKit improvements or AirPlay 2 support. There is something much more important, and it is gong to affect everyone.

Apple iOS is (and always was) the most secure mobile OS. FBI forensic expert called Apple “evil genius” because of that. Full disk encryption (since iOS 4), very reliable factory reset protection, Secure Enclave, convenient two-factor authentication are just a few things to mention. Starting with iOS 8, Apple itself cannot break into the locked iPhone. While in theory they are technically capable of creating (and signing, as they hold the keys) a special firmware image to boot the device, its encryption is not based on a hardware-specific key alone (as was the case for iOS 7 and older, and still the case for most Androids). Instead, the encryption key is also based on the user’s passcode, which is now 6 digits by default. Cracking of the passcode is not possible at all, thanks to Secure Enclave. Still, in come cases, Apple may help law enforcement personnel, and they at least provide some trainings to FBI and local police.

iOS 11 has arrived, now running on every second Apple device. There could not be a better time to reminiscent how iOS forensics has started just a few short years ago. Let’s have a look at what was possible back then, what is possible now, and what can be expected of iOS forensics in the future.